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• Work to start on $2.6 million project on I-94 in St. Croix and Dunn Counties
• State deer herd predicted at 1.5 to 1.7 million this fall
• Feingold announces plan for universal health care

Work is scheduled to begin the week of July 30 on a $2.6 million project to improve I-94 in Dunn and St. Croix Counties.

But for motorists the good news is that most of the work will be done during the night, according to Wisconsin Department of Transportation officials.

Crews will diamond grind 12.4-miles of pavement between Highway 128 near Glenwood City and Highway 25 in Menomonie.

This project will remove the faulting in the concrete pavement joints to restore ride quality and extend pavement life.

The Interstate will remain open to normal traffic during daytime hours. However, beginning the week of July 30, westbound traffic will be restricted to one lane between 8p.m. and 6:00 a.m.

Work on the westbound lane is expected to be completed in September.

Overnight work on the eastbound lanes is expected to begin in September and be completed in October.

WisDOT officials say motorists should remain alert to changing traffic conditions.

MADISON - Wisconsin's white-tailed deer population is projected to be 1.5 to 1.7 million this fall, 12 percent higher than last fall, according to state wildlife officials.

That projection is well above established population goals, but better than expected, according to Keith Warnke, big game ecologist for the Department of Natural Resources.

"Given the limited herd control seasons last year and the extremely mild winter in northern Wisconsin, hunters did a fine job limiting projected herd growth to 12 percent," Warnke says.

Warnke added that hunters need to step up to the plate this fall and harvest anterless deer to help keep the population in check.

The DNR also says hunters should remember that there is no four-day October gun hunt.

A moratorium on October gun deer hunting will be implemented on a two-year trial basis with an option to reinstate October gun deer hunting after one year if deer harvests in Herd Control units drops below a 1.4-to-1 antlerless to buck ratio.

The October herd control hunt, referred to in past years as "Zone T," was effective at reducing deer populations, Warnke says. But it was unpopular with hunters who felt that it interfered with the very best time for archery deer hunting and caused behavioral changes in deer that made hunting more difficult.

"If we work together to have hunters harvest two antlerless deer for every antlered buck we should be successful in keeping the herd in check," Warnke said.

Hunters who shoot more deer than they can use or share with family or friends can donate to the deer donation program DNR will again be coordinating. The DNR says the list of participating meat processors to be available in August.

Universal health care what U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Middleton, is aiming at in the health care reform package he announced Monday in Milwaukee.

Feingold says he will introduce the package he calls the "State-Based Health Care Reform Act" in the Senate this week.

The program it would authorize a couple of states to launch five-year long pilot projects aimed at providing universal health care for everyone in those states.

"With an American-style approach to reform, that gives flexibility to the states and fuels innovation, real health care reform is within reach," Feingold said. "I support guaranteed health care coverage for all Americans and this bill moves us toward that goal."

Feingold says the program would cost $32 billion over ten years and is fully paid for through offsets, although he did not mention what other federal programs those offsets would come from.

He added that the offsets would make funding available right away which would allow the program to take effect immediately.

The pilot programs would be funded through a grant application program overseen by the Health Care Reform Task Force established in the legislation.

Feingold noted that his plan gives flexibility and assistance to the states to achieve universal health care.

Under his plan states are not required to adopt a certain program but are instead given the flexibility to achieve universal coverage through any means deemed appropriate by the state.

Coverage must meet certain minimum standards and must include protections for low-income people.

The potential presidential candidate says the bill is aimed at breaking the political stalemate in Congress that is preventing meaningful health care reform from being enacted.

"For too long, Congress has sat on the sidelines while the country's health care crisis has gotten worse," Feingold said. "With 46 million Americans struggling without health insurance, we must find a way to break the current stalemate, and that's what my legislation is all about."